Darden School to Host TEDxUVA Women Live Screening Event

The University of Virginia Darden School of Business will host an independently organized TED event called TEDxUVaWomen. On Thursday, 5 December, the public is invited to watch a live screening of the 2013 TEDWomen presentations, which will take place in San Francisco, California. TEDxUVaWomen is free and will be broadcast in Darden’s Classroom 50.

The TEDWomen  2013 lineup includes Sheryl Sandberg, women’s health expert Dr. Paula Johnson, and many other artists, entrepreneurs and leaders. In years past, TEDWomen has hosted speakers including Hillary Clinton, Arianna Huffington and Madeleine Albright.

Visitors and members of the Darden community will watch December’s women-led TED talks together. Following the viewing, they will engage in themed group discussions. Members of Darden’s Graduate Women in Business student club will lead these conversations, covering various topics pertaining to women in business.

TEDxUVAWomen is the culmination of Professor Yael Grushka-Cockayne’s vision to help female MBA students realize their leadership potential and understand the current professional leadership landscape for their gender.

IT BEGAN WITH A DREAM

Last year, Grushka-Cockayne received The Mead Endowment award, which funds a professor’s “Dream Idea.” As part of the program, UVA faculty members develop activities that involve students in their areas of interest and research.

Grushka-Cockayne is concerned about the lack of women in the company C-suites and set out to empower Darden’s women to envision themselves in those roles.

She took a group of students to witness the live TEDxWomen presentations. The experience took the Darden group through a range of emotions as they listened to women like themselves describe their joys and troubles in various aspects of work and life.

“The women who spoke at TEDx all shared their personal stories or struggles and triumphs,” said Julie Young (MBA ’13) in an article for Darden’s Cold Call Chronicle, the student-led publication. “I was truly inspired by the women who discussed something they had become extremely passionate about, as they told us how they have used their own talents and resources — no matter how big or small — to make a difference in the world.”